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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 36. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by niki2005 on February 22, 2005, at 0:49:12
Hello everyone!
I am going to stop taking abilify next month. I took 10 mg (9 months), 5mg(2months) and now I am on 2.5 mg. Have anyone some experience? Thank you.
Posted by SLS on February 22, 2005, at 8:28:29
In reply to withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 22, 2005, at 0:49:12
> Hello everyone!
> I am going to stop taking abilify next month. I took 10 mg (9 months), 5mg(2months) and now I am on 2.5 mg. Have anyone some experience? Thank you.I discontinued Abilify recently. I did it much quicker than you did. I went from 10mg to 5.0mg for a few days and then 0mg. I experienced some mild anxiety, but that's about it. You must take into consideration exactly what you are being treated for. If you experience psychotic or manic states, you should monitor yourself closely for the reappearance of these symptoms. I suffer only from chronic bipolar depression, so I was not too concerned about that.
My best guess is that your withdrawal will be relatively easy. Are you substituting it with another antipsychotic? What other drugs are you currently taking? What are you being treated for?
- Scott
Posted by niki2005 on February 22, 2005, at 23:14:20
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by SLS on February 22, 2005, at 8:28:29
Dear Scott!
Thank you very much for you post. I also took 10 mg Lexapro during 1 year, and now I stopped taking it only a 3 days ago . Now I have nausea and weakness. It is a reason why I am worried about abilify too. Thank you again.
Posted by SLS on February 23, 2005, at 7:28:27
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 22, 2005, at 23:14:20
> Dear Scott!
> Thank you very much for you post. I also took 10 mg Lexapro during 1 year, and now I stopped taking it only a 3 days ago . Now I have nausea and weakness. It is a reason why I am worried about abilify too. Thank you again.It often takes 3 days before withdrawal symptoms develop with the SSRIs (except for Paxil, which can be 1 day). You're right on schedule.
What are you willing to do to prevent the withdrawal symptoms?
Are you willing to restart the Lexapro at 5mg and taper down more slowly? How small can you cut up the pieces of Lexapro?
Are you willing to take a small amount of Prozac for a week or two, allowing you to discontinue the Lexapro more quickly? Prozac is practically self-tapering and relatively smooth.
If you intend to continue to go without doing either of these two things, you might find relief for certain symptoms by using Benadryl. Other posters here describe it as being effective.
If your are switching to another antidepressant, maybe you can begin taking it now so that it acts to substitute for Lexapro and prevents withdrawal.
If I can think of anything else, I'll post.
I have had success by taking smaller and smaller fractions of pills taken several times a day. The object is to not allow the withdrawal symptoms to reappear for more than an hour or so before taking the next fraction of pill. If the pills don't break up evenly, don't worry too much about it. You can estimate. Ideally, you will find that you can use less and less Lexapro and that the periods between the reappearance of withdrawal symptoms grow longer.
Good luck.
- Scott
Posted by niki2005 on February 23, 2005, at 14:27:32
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by SLS on February 23, 2005, at 7:28:27
Dear Scott!
I took 10 mg Lexapro (about 10 months), then-5mg Lexapro (about 2 months), then-2.5 mg-about 3weeks (at night). And I stopped taking now completely.I was a little bit better yesterday (no nausea).
Scott, I don't want to restart any drag including AD. I don't know how and what I will feel when I stop to take abilify (i had just one psychotic episode one year ago).But I hope that I can live without drags. Why knows? I will see. What are you taking now and how are you feeling? Thank you.
Posted by SLS on February 23, 2005, at 15:51:45
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 23, 2005, at 14:27:32
Hi.
I am relieved to hear that you tapered Lexapro properly. Hopefully, your withdrawal symptoms won't last too long.
As for me, I'm kind of stuck. I have a bad case of bipolar depression that just won't respond adequately to medication. I decided to restart the Abilify because I feel it was helpful for motivation and mental energy. The difference isn't much, but every little bit helps. Thanks for asking.
:-)
Best wishes.
- Scott
Posted by niki2005 on February 23, 2005, at 16:17:43
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify » niki2005, posted by SLS on February 23, 2005, at 15:51:45
Dear Scott!
Thank you for your post. When I took 10 mg abilify I had awful akathisia. Now I see how many people have akathisia taking abilify (on this site), but before I didn't know what is it and couldn't explain this to my doctor (english is my second language). I had akathisia and not enough energy.Difficult time. When I went on 5 mg, my akathisia got better and better and I had more energy. May be it was my right dose. Now -on 2.5 mg I feel more energy and no akathisia. Have you got the same problems? Thank you again.
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 9:20:48
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 23, 2005, at 16:17:43
Given that Abilify has a very long half-life, if you get withdrawal symptoms when you stop completely, you could go to 2.5mg every other day...just a thought.
Posted by niki2005 on February 25, 2005, at 15:20:47
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 9:20:48
Dear banga,thank you very much for your post. Do you know the most common withdrawal symptoms (from abilify)? Or may be they are the same as the withdrawal symptoms from other drugs, for example lexapro? Thank you again.
Posted by banga on March 2, 2005, at 15:45:25
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 25, 2005, at 15:20:47
Sorry I didn't answer for so long--I haven't been frequenting the new withdrawal board.
I haven't really been on large enough doses for a long enough time to judge withdrawal reactions from Abilify. IN general, with the atypical antipsychotics I have tried I did not get withdrawal symptoms really--just loss of therapeutic benefit.
I would think the symptoms would be different than say Lexapro, simply because the mode of action is so different. I have not for instance heard people complaining of the "brain zaps" going off antipsychotics.
But again, the amounts I was on I wouldnt call my experience all that big in this arena. Also, in general I seem to be less plagued by withdrawal problems than some other people.....
Posted by Girlfriend on May 28, 2006, at 22:23:14
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by banga on March 2, 2005, at 15:45:25
Hello, I'm the girlfriend of a wonderful guy that happens to be bi-polar. He has been on Abilify for qute some time and just informed me tonight that he has stopped taking it for the past week. His issue is with spending money, so that's not where my concern lies. His girlfriend can cover for him if that kind of problem arises ;)
I'm concerned about his withdrawal symptoms. Does anyone know how long it takes until there are no more traces of this drug in the system? Are there any withdrawal symptoms that I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance,
The Concerned Girlfriend
Posted by SLS on May 29, 2006, at 9:23:46
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Girlfriend on May 28, 2006, at 22:23:14
Abilify has a relatively long half-life. It is about 96 hours. It might be a week or more before he begins to experience any withdrawal symptoms. I haven't read many accounts of the course of withdrawal from Abilify. Anxiety is bound to surface. Beyond that, I'm really not sure. It would be a big favor to this website if you were to report back to us how things go.
Generally speaking, most of a drug is eliminated from the body after 5 half-lives. For Abilify, that would be approximately 20 days.
Hoping for the best...
- Scott
Posted by Girlfriend on May 29, 2006, at 10:01:58
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by SLS on May 29, 2006, at 9:23:46
Scott,
Thanks for the quick reply! So far I've noticed that his social anxiety is already dissipating. He has more focus and a bit more passion :DThe only symptom that he has spoken of is that he feels like he wants to grind his teeth, yet deosn't? I am uncertain of whether this is just muscular jaw tension or if it's a physical reaction to the internal mental stress that he's going through. Most likely it's the later.
I'm still trying to find information about the withdrawal symptoms to expect, that's why I'm here. He's right at the one week mark so I'm certain that there will be more reactions. I'll keep this updated with his progress so hopefully it will help others in the future.
Thanks Again!
The Concerned & Supportive Girlfriend> Abilify has a relatively long half-life. It is about 96 hours. It might be a week or more before he begins to experience any withdrawal symptoms. I haven't read many accounts of the course of withdrawal from Abilify. Anxiety is bound to surface. Beyond that, I'm really not sure. It would be a big favor to this website if you were to report back to us how things go.
>
> Generally speaking, most of a drug is eliminated from the body after 5 half-lives. For Abilify, that would be approximately 20 days.
>
> Hoping for the best...
>
>
> - Scott
>
Posted by Girlfriend on July 9, 2006, at 17:25:24
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Girlfriend on May 29, 2006, at 10:01:58
Well, I promised an update so here it is.
As soon as the withdrawal symptoms hit, the relationship was over. He pushed me away, so I gave him space and I haven't heard from him since. I wish the best for him and hope he's alright. I think he understands that I'm the kind of person that if he ever needs me, I'll be there for him.
Thanks for your input.
Ex-Girlfriend
Posted by SLS on July 10, 2006, at 5:52:11
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Girlfriend on July 9, 2006, at 17:25:24
> Well, I promised an update so here it is.
>
> As soon as the withdrawal symptoms hit, the relationship was over. He pushed me away, so I gave him space and I haven't heard from him since.I'm sorry. Drugs and their withdrawal can make people feel and do things that they wouldn't normally. Of course, the possibility exists that discontinuing the Abilify allowed for the reappearance of the illness that it had been until now treating successfully.
Can you describe his withdrawal symptoms? How long did it take for them to appear?
> I wish the best for him and hope he's alright. I think he understands that I'm the kind of person that if he ever needs me, I'll be there for him.
I wish for both of you the best for each of you.
Take care.
- Scott
Posted by Girlfriend on July 10, 2006, at 22:33:20
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by SLS on July 10, 2006, at 5:52:11
We only spoke again once after that post. Everything seemed fine at that time. The conversation was short and didn't include anything relating to his illness or meds. I left a vm and two text messages after that, all about 3 - 4 days apart. I figured that when he was ready, he'd contact me. Needless to say that at this point, I've moved on.
Ex-Girlfriend
Posted by Girlfriend on September 2, 2006, at 9:28:46
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Girlfriend on July 10, 2006, at 22:33:20
Well, he was finally ready to contact me. The other day I came home to a note on my door to call him. It was a different number??
He said that the withdrawal symptoms were terrible. He became anxious and irratable. He walked out on his job, lost his phone and totalled his car. He was invincible! He craved danger and excitement - anything to make him feel alive. These are not the kind of problems he had before he went on the meds.
He was back on abilify for over a month before he contacted me and he's still not the same person. It's like there's a caged animal behind his eyes. I'm almost afraid of him although I know he would never intentionally hurt me.
Posted by SLS on September 2, 2006, at 17:28:02
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Girlfriend on September 2, 2006, at 9:28:46
> Well, he was finally ready to contact me. The other day I came home to a note on my door to call him. It was a different number??
>
> He said that the withdrawal symptoms were terrible. He became anxious and irratable. He walked out on his job, lost his phone and totalled his car. He was invincible! He craved danger and excitement - anything to make him feel alive. These are not the kind of problems he had before he went on the meds.
>
> He was back on abilify for over a month before he contacted me and he's still not the same person. It's like there's a caged animal behind his eyes. I'm almost afraid of him although I know he would never intentionally hurt me.
That sounds like a mixed-state episode of bipolar disorder, perhaps kindled by the abrupt discontinuation of the Abilify. Depakote might help.
- Scott
Posted by om on November 24, 2006, at 0:03:08
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by SLS on September 2, 2006, at 17:28:02
I'm in withdrawal of Abilify as I write this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I read the '2.5 every other day suggestion'. For how long? And then what am I to expect after 3 weeks? This is rather unpleasant. I can holistically feel the absence of this drug.
Posted by Girlfriend on November 24, 2006, at 16:00:34
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify-new withdrawer, posted by om on November 24, 2006, at 0:03:08
Hi om,
All the information I have posted has been second hand. I'm sorry I can't be more help :(I did email my ex boyfriend and ask him to post about his experiences. I honestly don't know whether he will or not. I'm sure that there are some things that happened during that time that I don't think he'll even admit to me.
Good luck to you and I hope things go well!
ex- Girlfriend
> I'm in withdrawal of Abilify as I write this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I read the '2.5 every other day suggestion'. For how long? And then what am I to expect after 3 weeks? This is rather unpleasant. I can holistically feel the absence of this drug.
Posted by rina on February 5, 2007, at 18:21:07
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify-new withdrawer, posted by om on November 24, 2006, at 0:03:08
> I'm in withdrawal of Abilify as I write this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I read the '2.5 every other day suggestion'. For how long? And then what am I to expect after 3 weeks? This is rather unpleasant. I can holistically feel the absence of this drug.
OMG!! I take that as well. Lord have mercy if it's anything like my Effexor XR withdrawals.
Posted by rina on February 18, 2007, at 13:30:13
In reply to withdrawal from abilify, posted by niki2005 on February 22, 2005, at 0:49:12
> Hello everyone!
> I am going to stop taking abilify next month. I took 10 mg (9 months), 5mg(2months) and now I am on 2.5 mg. Have anyone some experience? Thank you.Hi everyone,
Not that I would suggest it but I took myself off the Abilify last week at 30mg cold turkey. Havn't had any side effects yet.
Posted by Girlfriend on February 18, 2007, at 14:32:16
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by rina on February 18, 2007, at 13:30:13
> Hi everyone,
>
> Not that I would suggest it but I took myself off the Abilify last week at 30mg cold turkey. Havn't had any side effects yet.
It took over 10 days for the real problems to surface with my ex-boyfriend.**On a side note, he may not be an ex anymore. We had a long talk this morning and we're considering getting back together???
Psudo-Ex-Girlfriend
Posted by Treesee on February 19, 2008, at 14:20:56
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify » rina, posted by Girlfriend on February 18, 2007, at 14:32:16
I notice it has been a long time since anyone posted here. I hope someone out there will read my post.
I am currently withdrawing from Abilify. I took 1 mg for a couple of years to treat anxiety. Now I want to be off of it because I hate the feeling of dizziness when I get up from a squat (orthostatic hypotension).
I have been off Abilify now for 8 days. I am having symptoms of numb tongue and sore neck (both on the left side of my body). Has anyone had symptoms like these? Or could they be completely unrelated?
Thanks for your help.
Posted by 49er on February 19, 2008, at 14:56:56
In reply to Re: withdrawal from abilify, posted by Treesee on February 19, 2008, at 14:20:56
Hi,
I have never taken Abilify but ithas been my experince that usually, psych meds need to be tapered. Even small amounts that you were on.I am not a medical professional but it sounds like these symptoms are related to withdrawal.
Hopefully, that is all you are dealing with and it isn't preventing you from leading your life.
49er
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